GOVERNMENT auditors have found various irregularities in the government’s P743.15 million program to feed more milk to grade school children while helping increase the income of Filipino dairy farmers.
In the 2021 audit of the National Dairy Authority (NDA) released last June 27, the Commission on Audit said procurement contracts for P109 million worth of fresh milk were not backed by post qualification reports (PQRs).
The PQRs are required under the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (RIRR) of RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act because it ensures the selected supplier is eligible and compliant with the conditions of the contract.
Instead of helping Filipino dairy farmers and farmers cooperatives, the NDA awarded P239.122 million contracts to nine private corporations and companies without going through public bidding.
Auditors said the NDA treated the transactions as emergency procurement under Bayanihan Law in violation of Section 10, RA 9184 which made public bidding mandatory.
The Commission on Audit clarified that the resort of emergency procurement is baseless because the milk program is not covered by the Bayanihan Laws which concern pandemic-related procurements.
“It is noteworthy to mention that the Bayanihan Laws, RA Nos. 11469 (Bayanihan to Heal as One Act or Bayanihan 1) and 11494 (Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2), do not apply to the funds received by the NDA,” the commission pointed out.
Funding for the milk program came from the Department of Education—School-Based Feeding Program (DepEd-SBFP) which provided P693.893 million, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Supplemental Feeding Program (DSWD-SFP), which contributed P49.26 million.
Auditors added the memorandum of agreement (MOA) did not even mention either of the Bayanihan Laws but only RA No. 11037 or the Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act.
“Audit disclosed that even though the nine suppliers did not qualify as farmers and fisherfolk and agricultural cooperatives or enterprises, the fresh milks were procured through emergency procurement under the Bayanihan Laws …instead of competitive bidding,” the audit team said.
In addition, transactions totaling P38.274 million were found to have incomplete documentation. This refers to the absence of valid identification cards from the authorized recipients at DepEd-Schools Division Offices or DSWD-Child Development Centers, original inspection and acceptance reports, contract with suppliers, and list of authorized consignees.
“The absence of these documents casts doubt on the propriety of the disbursements made by the NDA since there is no assurance that the reported volumes of fresh milks delivered were indeed received,” the COA said.
Auditors also found 71 disbursement vouchers representing transactions worth P225.25 million that suffered from deficient documentation or papers of doubtful validity due to improper execution and marking.
